Paul In Athens
Notes
Transcript
To provide context, remember that Paul had went to Thessalonica. Many believed, but the Jews found him there and ran him off. So Paul and his men went to Berea, where they received a great welcome. The people there were willing to listen and test what Paul said against the Word of God. They did, and many of them believed, but while Paul was there, the Jews found out he was there and came to run him off again.
They sent Paul ahead to Athens, which is where we are picking up tonight.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.
17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
Athens was the political and intellectual capital of the Attic region of Greece. Because it was such an influential place, Rome had decided to allow it to remain a free capitol. In other words, Rome was in control, but it allowed Athens to operate freely, as long as it did not cause any issues and answered the call when Rome called.
Athens was known for its intellectual prowess. It produced most of the leading minds in just about every area of knowledge thinkable. They were known for their knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, astrology, psychology, and just about every other educational landscape one could imagine. They took pride in their knowledge and this quickly became their reason for existence.
Many believe that Athens was not on Paul’s list to visit, but that he found himself there simply because of the events that had taken place in other areas. Whether Paul himself meant to end up in Athens or not, it seems as if it was in God’s plan that he end up there.
What time Paul is in Athens, he spends a considerable amount of time in the marketplace, “daily” it says. The marketplace was known as the “Agora”. It was an open area surrounded on all sides by buildings, and it served as the economic and social center of life. This is where everyone went to hang out and to make money.
While there, Paul witnessed a lot things, including several statues that were dedicated to certain Athenian gods. It tells us that as Paul surveyed all of these things, that his spirit was provoked within him. In other words, he was angry because of the idol worship that was taking place there. Paul had seen a lot of things during his travels, but no doubt, this was the most ungodly place full of idol worship that he had ever seen. He had never witnessed anything like it before. Everyone worshipped something, but everyone worshipped something different. There was no consistency, no unity, no guiding principles, no standards. It was in essence a spiritual free-for-all.
So Paul decides to go to the synagogue there and preach Jesus to the Jews and spent time preaching Jesus to the Gentile worshipers as well. During all of this, certain “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers” heard his message. His message was new to them.
They worshipped many gods, not one God. They had never heard a message about the God of creation sending His own Son to secure salvation for all mankind through His own death on a Roman cross. They were used to paying homage to their gods by offering money, food, sacrifices, and even sexual acts to them so that they might earn their grace, love, and favor. They had never heard of a God who loved mankind so deeply that He would freely offer grace to anyone who would believe in what He had done on their behalf.
When they heard what Paul was preaching, they instantly said, “What does this babbler want to say?” and “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.”
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?
20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”
21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
The Areopagus, also called Mars Hill by the Romans, overlooked the Acropolis and initially functioned as the seat for the Council of Elders - a small aristocratic council in the 7th and 6th centuries BC before democratic reforms. During Paul’s day, the Areopagus most likely served as a judicial or law court.
Because of Paul’s strange teachings, these men who had encountered him brought him to the Areopagus for questioning. Again, Athens was driven by a thirst for knowledge, so these men determined that if Paul was speaking some new thing, the Areopagus could determine if it was legit or not.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
Notice how Paul approaches this conversation. Paul is no amateur here. He does not come in guns a blazing, accusing them of idolatry, belittling them, or with an angry spirit. Rather, he begins his explanation by giving them a compliment.
During his time in Athens, he had surveyed that the Athenians had some form of worship going on just about all the time. There were temples set up everywhere, multiple statues designed to glorify their many different gods, and much else. Though their faith was placed in all of the wrong places, they had faith in something. Though he is going to present his case that they place their faith in something new, at least they have faith in something.
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
Paul very wisely points out that one of the monuments that had been erected was built in honor of the “UNKNOWN GOD”. He points out that they are so religious that they are willing to worship even the gods they don’t know, so that they might cover all the bases.
He uses this opportunity as a springboard to present his God, the one true God, to them and says, “the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:”
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
Paul now presents God Almighty to these people. All of the gods the Athenians worshipped were little gods. In other words, they had a different god for everything. One god was in control of the sun, another in control of the seas, another in control of the wind, etc. But Paul explains that the one true God is in control of everything. He is the ultimate creator of all things. Therefore, all things are in subjection to Him and Him alone.
He is not like these gods they worship. He does not “dwell in temples made with hands”, but in heaven. He is also not worshiped “with men’s hands, as though He needed anything,”. This means that He does not require gold, silver, and precious stones, offerings of physical things, or anything else. God in heaven is not won over and cannot be bought. “He gives to all life, breath, and all things”, so He is in need of nothing. The way to worship Paul’s God is not through flattery, but through obedience and subjection.
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
As the God of all creation and all things that exist, it is Him who has created all living things, and all of those living things are under His control. He has appointed the rise and fall of the nations, as well as the extent of their reign while in power.
All things are done in a way to bring about the humbleness of all people so that they would “seek the Lord”. His hope is “that they might grope for Him and find Him”.
This word “grope” means to verify by contact, to search for, to feel after as if one is blind. It is the idea that though men may not know God intimately, the events of their lives are orchestrated in such a way that they seek Him diligently, even if they do not know how. They are brought to a place to where they call out for help, for all means of satisfaction has been taken away and no other hope exists. They cry out for help, looking for One who might be able to fix their brokenness.
But the truth is, our very existence requires His immediate attention. Without His help, we would not survive from one day to another. Without His help, we would not grow, advance, or even subsist as we are. Without His help, we would actually digress into a worse condition than we currently have and experience. Therefore, though many may seek for Him as if they do not know Him, Paul wants them to know that God “is not far from each one of us.” He is nearer than most realize, and He is near because He cares for us and wants us to come into a relationship with us.
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
Paul continues here with the thought of God being near by saying “for in Him we live and move and have our being.” He even continues by using some of their own intellect to support his argument. He says that even some of their own poets have exclaimed that we are the offspring of some unknown God, seeing that all the gods of wood and stone cannot produce living beings. These lifeless idols cannot produce living things, so there must be some other being, which is a living being, that produced all things in existence. It is this living God that Paul preaches to them.
He hones in on this concept by saying that we cannot apply these lifeless ideologies to a living God. He says, “we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.” God is above and beyond all of these things. We cannot expect to erect a statue of a God we have not seen. Furthermore, it would be idolatrous to do so, for we are not to worship an image of God, but God Himself. He is not some materialistic being that we can hope to fashion into something that pleases us, because He is God, He is in control of all things, not us. We cannot expect Him to conform to our understanding, but we are to conform to His. He is the One in whom we must seek to know and understand, and He is the One in whom we must seek to please.
30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Paul now brings things to a close by offering His final words on the matter. He does so by explaining that if such a God as he preaches exists, there must be a natural response. God has been patient with the ignorance of man and has overlooked many things because of this, but He “now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
This time of ignorance is now at an end. He has come Himself to this earth to reveal Himself unto us, so there is no room for ignorance left. Because of what He has done, there is only one option left, which is to adhere to His will and follow Him faithfully. At least that is the only option for the one who seeks to be in the will of God.
Why is it so important that every man does so? He says, “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness.” There is judgment coming. Everyone who accepts His testimony and follows Him faithfully will be spared, but all of those who deny Him will be judged. And all of this hinges on whether or not we have accepted “the Man whom He has ordained.” Jesus Christ is the firstfruits of salvation. If we believe in Him, we will be accepted by the Father, but if we do not believe in Him, we will be condemned by the Father.
We know this to be this case because of the supernatural events that occurred to Him. God has provided an “assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” The fact that Jesus Christ rose again three days after He was placed in the grave is the Word of God made sure. He has solidified His intentions in what He has accomplished in Christ. There is salvation to all who will believe, but for the rest comes judgment.
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”
33 So Paul departed from among them.
34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
When Paul reached this point in his message, it is where he was cut off. God had used Paul to reach some of the intellectual minds: “Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” What an accomplishment, that with one sermon of truth, God was able to bring so many to salvation.
On the other hand, many did not believe and “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked,” Apostle Paul as if he were a crazy man. Other still yet said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” In other words, they had not been completely convinced on Paul’s truth just yet, but their curiosity had been peaked to the point that they wanted to hear more about this “UNKNOWN GOD”.
Either way, Paul departed from them and we really don’t know what else happens with this group of people. We find in the first verse of the next chapter that Paul has already moved on to another city. Regardless, Paul was sent by God to one of the most intellectual societies in the world during that day, and was able to make a spiritual impact upon them simply by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What a powerful testimony to us. Let us never consider the Gospel to weak or simple to change even the most intellectual of individuals. For it is the power of God behind the message that does the work of evangelism, not man.
